Vice President College Advancement

Job Description

The Vice President, College Advancement will lead KIPP’s national strategy to dramatically increase college access, enrollment, and success for KIPP students—shaping the future of postsecondary outcomes for thousands of young people across the country. This role is especially compelling for a leader who wants to drive measurable, system-level impact: by 2030, KIPP aims to achieve 95% college enrollment, 85% four-year enrollment, and significantly increase the number of students attending the country’s best colleges.

The VP will serve as the architect and drive the strategy, therefore setting the vision and direction, program and initiatives, that ensure our counselors, directors, regions, and students thrive.

Reporting to the Chief of College Advancement & Partnerships, the Vice President will collaborate closely with senior leaders, regional teams, and external partners to align efforts and accelerate toward KIPP’s most ambitious goals. The role carries significant responsibility and visibility—translating data and insights into action, shaping national guidance for college counseling and completion, expanding the ecosystem of higher education partners committed to equity and student success.

The VP will directly lead a talented team of seven and steward a culture defined by collaboration, innovation, candor, and a deep commitment to excellent results for students. This team works with humility and urgency, embraces continuous learning, and designs solutions and systems with regions, to ensure that every KIPP student has a strong postsecondary pathway.

This position is ideal for a mission-driven, strategic, and relational leader who thrives in environments where ambitious goals, cross-functional collaboration, and transformational impact are central. The VP, College Advancement will play a critical role in shaping the next chapter of KIPP’s postsecondary success work—and in expanding opportunity at a national scale.

• Set and execute the national strategy for college access, enrollment, and success, ensuring alignment across regions and national teams.
• Drive strategies to achieve KIPP’s 2030 goals: 95% college enrollment, 85% four-year college enrollment, and increased representation at top colleges.
• Develop a long-term strategic roadmap integrating college counseling, match, financial aid, persistence, and institutional partnerships.
• Leverage data to define key performance indicators, track progress, and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Monitor national trends and emerging opportunities in higher education to ensure KIPP’s strategy remains responsive and relevant.
• Represent KIPP as a national thought leader, engaging with colleges, funders, advocacy organizations, and other key stakeholders.

• Develop and refine scalable, evidence-based systems for college counseling and persistence support across the KIPP network.
• Lead high-quality implementation of college advancement initiatives in all regions.
• Operate within Network-Aligned and Centralized models, shifting from a high school–level director structure to a regional director accountability model, placing ownership of outcomes where strategic levers are strongest.
• Deliver high-quality, in-time professional development for regional and school directors, with a focus on leadership management, and technical skills.
• Leverage student feedback, and field insights to identify best practices and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead initiatives that improve advising quality, including college match, FAFSA/financial aid completion, matriculation readiness, and summer melt reduction.
• Partner with regional leaders to codify high-impact advising models and integrate them into school-based programming.
• Collaborate with College Partnerships to ensure institutional commitments translate into measurable student outcomes.
• Support progress toward persistence and graduation benchmarks: 30% 4-year graduation, 45% 5-year graduation, 60% 6-year graduation, as well as freshman and sophomore persistence goals.

• Lead and develop a high-performing College Advancement team…